


Under the Floorboards

by orphan_account



Category: Hannibal (TV), The Borrowers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Borrowers Fusion, Because I Love The Borrowers, Hannibal is hella parinoid, M/M, Teeny Sex, Thats Fucking Why, Tiny!Will, Why Did I Write This?, Will is a borrower
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-24
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-02-10 07:34:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2016468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hannibal has been seeing the strangest things around his home. He just knows he's not crazy - well not that kind of crazy...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am so behind on all of my stories and I up and started this one noooo  
> but I was watching my the secret World of Arrietty and this happened

In an upscale home in Baltimore, Maryland there lived a man named Hannibal Lecter, who was convinced he was going mad. Lately he's been seeing things move in the corner of his eye, and when he turns there's nothing there. He's also been missing things, one of his favorite cufflinks has gone missing from its box and he distinctly remembers putting them back after he got home from the opera. That wasn't all, there was a small cut in his pillow, which caused feathers to spill out onto his bedding. He was also missing several handkerchiefs, a watch, a few cups, a scalpel, and several other small items. 

He wasn't on any medication, he's been getting enough sleep, and his diet, though unusual, was quite healthy. At first he thought it was mice or other forms of vermin in his home, the very thought making him cringe. However, there were no clear signs that there were rodents in his home. There were no droppings, in the kitchen or cupboards, nor were there any torn up toilet paper or paper towels to make bedding. There were however, cuts in is pillow. Not jagged tears, but tiny cuts that seem to have been made by a knife. Things also seemed to have changed slightly. Things normal people wouldn't notice at all, knives moved slightly to the left, small wrinkles in otherwise perfectly ironed clothes, and there were small chips in his bar soap. He wouldn't have noticed them himself if it weren't for his finely honed surviving skills (he refused to admit he has OCD.)

One day Hannibal swore he saw something move in the corner of eye and he tore apart his dresser looking for it, but not finding a trace of whatever it was. He regretted for the first time the cleaning service he has come in to meticulously clean his home. There was no dust, therefore there was nothing there to actually prove that there was something. That was the last straw. Hannibal went out and bought several hidden cameras and he hid them around the house, specifically in the places where Hannibal sensed disturbances. 

Over the next few days Hannibal diligently added checking the camera feed into his daily routine in the morning and evening. He still wasn’t sure what he was looking for. If Hannibal was a superstitious man, he would have figured that the ghosts of his past finally caught up with him, because he still hasn’t seen anything that would signal that he wasn't going mad. He sighed and put away his tablet and dressed for bed, empty handed again.  
***

Will Graham watched as the human bean fell asleep for the night and sighed happily. He was the last of his kind in this home, and he enjoyed his solitude despite the fact that it was very dangerous for a borrower to live alone. He had this giant space all to himself and he could do what he wanted and not have to deal with anyone telling him that he was being "too weird" or "not acting like a borrower." He was running low on water and soap so he had to go hunting for more. He always tried to put off getting these things because it took too long and the longer he was running around above the floorboards increased the risk of being caught. 

Will was eternally thankful that the human bean that lived here didn't own a cat. 

He strapped on his water canteen and climbed out of his hole while holding his sharpened coin in case he ran into trouble. He dashed forwards making his way through the darkened home expertly. Finally he made it to the kitchen sink. The bathroom next to the human bean was closer, yes, but the human would hear it. He filled his pouch and ran it back to his home, repeating the process three more times. Once his water supply had been refilled he trudged back into his little home under the floors, falling asleep.  
***

Hannibal woke up, checking his tablet first thing, not expecting to find anything, however he was extremely surprised when he saw what looked like a tiny human with pointed ears running across the screen. The creature made no noise, and over the span of an hour it repeatedly ran to a yet-to-be-determined point at this point in time. He switched the cameras around and tried to figure out where that little thief was going and what he was doing. 

He was tempted to cancel his appointments and stay to see if he could catch the fascinating creature, however he didn’t want to break his 24 hour non-emergency cancellation policy. He went through his morning routine slowly, and with purpose. He needed a plan to catch this creature. 

He would have to buy more cameras on his way home tonight.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal has even more reasons to question his sanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE TWO CHAPTERS WTF

As soon as Hannibal got home, he went to his room to check his tablet. He needed to see if the little creature had wandered out of his home while he was gone. He smiled to himself when the little invader came crawling out of his hiding hole. 

How did the creature know when it was safe to come out and steal what he needed from Hannibal's home. He knew that he wouldn't have much of a chance catching it if he didn't study what kinds of habits the creature had. He put himself into his Ripper mindset. He needed to treat this invader like he would one of his hunts. He needed to find out where the creature lived exactly, what it could be and, what it did at each time of the day. For now, he saved his cameras for later and went to go make some calls, he needed to find the creature before he could flush it out. 

_Hello, Hannibal_

"Ah, Bedelia. How are you? I was wondering if I could borrow Mulder?"

_I'm fine, Hannibal, although I am very curious as to why you want to borrow my cat. What do you need him for?_

"It's a very long story, my dear. I fear I won't be able to tell you without risking my freedom. Without evidence, the story is so far-fetched you will most likely have me committed." 

_Yes, I'm definitely going to give you Mulder._ Came the sarcastic reply. 

"I promise, if Mulder lives up to his potential, I will tell you what I needed him for during out next appointment." 

_If there is even a single hair out of place on my cat, Hannibal-_

"I assure you, he will be fine."  
***

The next day an old Honda pulled up to Hannibal's home in Baltimore. Hannibal grimaced as the old car sputtered to a stop on his driveway. Luckily it was pouring rain so if any fluids leaked out onto his paved road, it would be washed away. 

He strode out to the driver's side with an umbrella in his hand, and opened the door. 

"Bedelia, I do wish that you would get a new car. My sessions should have been able to pay off a few cars."

"And I have told _you,_ Hannibal that this car was all my father had left in his life before he died, and I have taken good care of it. It is fully functional and I intend to ride it into the ground. Here, take this. 

Hannibal was handed a small pet carrier which held a very upset black Oriental cat. The animal did not like being in the carrier and it certainly didn't like rain. Hannibal held him at arms-length, hoping that it wouldn't swipe his paws at him. It usually was quite kind to Hannibal, which, according to Bedelia, was highly uncommon. 

The two rushed inside the home and stood in the foyer shaking off as much excess water as they can. Hannibal opened the cage door and out leapt Mulder. The skinny cat dashed off to run off its energy an Hannibal hoped he stayed out of the kitchen. The less cat hair near his food, the better. 

"Now Hannibal, tell me why you need my cat so badly." 

"Please give me moment."

Hannibal led Bedelia into his study, where he sat her down and fetched his tablet. He pulled up the video of the little creature that was living in his home, only do discover, that the all the video feeds were gone! Hannibal breathed deeply and tried to pull up live footage from the cameras themselves, but they were all either gone. The thing knew Hannibal was watching, and it didn't want to be found. Though, without physical evidence, the whole thing was beginning to seem far-fetched to Hannibal, despite his earlier certainty.

Hannibal closed the tablet and thought about what he was going to say to Bedelia and refrained from resorting back to licking his lips, an irritating habit of his. 

"I'm sorry for that Bedelia I was expecting an important email around this time." He could tell Bedelia wasn't buying it, but he didn't really care. "I require your cat because I have seen evidence of a mouse in my home. I would like for him to locate the nest before I call an exterminator to get rid of it. The last thing I want is some stranger lumbering through my house with dangerous chemicals or whatnot. I also do not wish to lay multiple traps and forget about them until the smell starts to kick in and I can't recall where all of the traps are."

Bedelia sighed, she knew Hannibal wasn't telling her the truth, but so long as he wasn't harming her cat, then she couldn't do much about it. 

"Well Hannibal I hope you take care of your problem." She left the unspoken, we'll talk about this later, hanging in the air. Hannibal wasn't looking forwards to that conversation in the slightest. 

Hannibal invited her downstairs for a glass of wine, but she respectfully declined. She needed to get home to her other pet. She didn't like it when she was alone for too long.  
***

Hannibal closed the door behind Bedelia and watched her drive away from the window. The hum of her car was almost drowned out by the steady rain. It finally let up enough for her to drive home safely and he was finally safe to have his (slight) mental break.

How on earth did the creature manage to get rid of all his cameras?

There was a small voice in the back of his head that he unsuccessfully tried to quiet, one that told him the creature never existed, and that it was time to move on. He quickly silenced its squealing and moved to check the cameras he placed around the house. While he was making his rounds he grabbed Mulder and carried him along. Hopefully, the cat would pick up on the creature's scent, allowing his certainty to remain. If the cameras were damaged beyond repair, then he would had his spares to replace them.  
***

Hannibal couldn’t find a damn camera in his house. They were all gone! There was absolutely no trace of them in the house. The only reassurance he had that the creature existed was the cat’s reaction to being near a small opening in the house next to the old clock in his home. Mulder jumped out of Hannibal’s arms and sniffed at the hole, pawing at it. He refused to leave the spot until Hannibal fed him later on. 

Hannibal set up more cameras and set up another live feed that would work into his laptop at his office. He needed to see how that creature figured out that Hannibal was watching him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this while watching x-files can you tell?  
> [Mulder the Cat](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dwPn4Xnmopc/UNsanQJMd-I/AAAAAAAAANM/PmPCizvtcKQ/s640/wegner-petra-oriental-shorthair-cat-black-ebony.jpg)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal finally catches Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Hannibal is one of those people who loves yet hates cats.

Will watched the human bean and his new cat wander around the house looking for him. He knew he should move out of the house, now that the man knew he lived under the floorboards, but he didn't want to. He's lived in this home for years now, and he has no intention of leaving. His dad brought him and his older brother Puck, to live in that house after their mother left them. 

Puck had long moved out and was currently living in the old oak tree in the backyard with his wife, Nettie. While his brother still comes over to visit, but it's not the same. His last visit however, they saw the human bean that lived above the floorboards putting up strange things around the entrance to his home. His brother became extremely nervous, saying that the human was watching him. He said that those things were magic looking glasses, so that the human could spy on him. 

At first Will didn't believe him, his brother was always paranoid about everything. That's why he moved out of the house. He believed the outside was safer than being inside with human beans. 

"Human beans can't be trusted, Will." Puck said, "You have to be extremely careful about what you do, you know that. The last human bean that lived here left, and this new one has something weird going on with him, you know that." 

One night when Will was out looking for bedding material when he accidentally stepped on this oddly shaped thing that was on the desk. The entire thing lit up and Will's face popped up on the screen, scaring the living daylights out of him. After running around on it for a bit, he discovered multiple pictures of the entrance to his home and several of him stealing things from various places. He immediately began to look for a way to get rid of the pictures, and it took him nearly an hour, but he finally made them all go away. He thought back to when his brother told him about the looking glasses that were all around the house and he sought them out. Even though he didn't get much time to actually get the things he needed, he was still able to find all of those cameras and get rid of them. 

Now all he wanted to do was sleep.   
***

The next morning brought a sense of dread with it. He could feel it in the air. As he went through his morning routine, he couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being watched, despite the fact that he had gotten rid of all the looking glasses. He could hear the cat scrabbling up and down on the floor over his head, but it wasn't looking for him. It was chasing something that was already on the surface. He hopes it gets away.   
***

Hannibal flashed his laser pointer at the floor and watched Mulder shoot after it in a streak of brown fur. He finally set up the traps for the creature, and now all he had to do was wait for it to come outside. He knew it wouldn't come out until dark, so he needed a way to keep himself occupied while he waited for the sun to set. Watching the cat run rampant in the house was almost amusing enough to distract him. Maybe he'll get a cat for himself one day.  
***

 _'I'm never getting one of these monsters.'_ Hannibal thought to himself while he inspected the damage the little beast did to the curtains in his office. 

He locked Mulder in his room while he went to pick up some groceries, but he hated to let the cat roam around the house without his supervision. He could easily get lost, or worse _hurt_ , then Bedelia would undoubtedly castrate him. 

Now Hannibal would pay the price by having his curtains repaired. 

But that would come for another time, nightfall was coming, the creature would be coming out to find food and other supplies. 

He needed to be ready for it.   
***

Will felt panic swallowing him whole. 

He went out to fill up his canteen that night. When he pulled the lever to make water come out of the giant well and suddenly a giant cage fell on top of him. 

He struggled to get out, but the bars were too heavy for him to move. He tried squeezing through the cage but to no avail, he was stuck. He sat down in his prison and tried not to cry. While sitting in the darkness he thought about how he was going to get out of this mess. He might never see his family again and he thought back to the last time he played with his nieces and nephews. He thinks of his brother chastising him for continuing to live in this house despite his constant warnings. He thinks of his sister-in-law's mother hen nature. 

A bright light suddenly blinded him, causing him to flinch. He closed his eyes and wish for a swift end.   
***

Hannibal couldn't believe his eyes. He knew this creature was in his home, but knowing something was there and actually seeing it were to very different things. He grabbed a piece of cardboard and walked towards the tiny creature. It sat there in it's little prison. 

It was huddled in on itself. It's tiny face was hidden, tiny dark brown curls glinting in the artificial light. Hannibal could just barely make out pointed ears that stuck out a little. It was wearing clothes that were expertly tailored, from what looked like _his_ pocket squares!

He got close to the creature and crouched down to the level of his kitchen sink. 

Quickly sliding the cardboard under the creature, he lifted the cage up and deposited the creature into a different cage, one more secure. 

By now the creature was on the verge of having a meltdown. He was shaking like a leaf, and his tiny cried were audible now. It still hasn't said anything, Hannibal wasn't even sure it spoke in any human known language. But no matter the opportunity to study such a creature was a once in a lifetime.

He would first study the mannerisms of the creature, followed by reflex responses and diet. Language barriers might cause a minor problem, but if the creature was as clever as Hannibal thought it was, then he would see if the creature could be taught. 

In the meantime, he set the creature's cage into a cabinet in his room and locked it in its new home. Hannibal laid down, finally able to sleep soundly, knowing that he finally caught the creature.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will spends the day with Hannibal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad i'm writing again like y'all don't even know

It was the longest night of Will's life. He would never see his family again, he might not even make it through the next day. He had heard all sorts of horrible stories about human beans. Things like they would cook and eat anything that they could catch. 

_Will might even be dinner in the morning!_

He needed to get out of there, but Will couldn't see an exit in sight! 

He began to feel light-headed and he sat down and tried to breathe before he passed out onto the bottom of the cage. He might be able to reason with the beast, maybe trick it into setting him free! Human beans aren't that smart. Will is certain he’s heard that somewhere. 

Will spent the entire night trying to think up ways to convince the human to let him go, when suddenly light flooded his little cage, and the first thing he saw was the face of the human bean. He was terrifying and gigantic and everything his brother said a human bean would be. 

Will shouldn’t be this shocked, he knows. He’s seen the man when it was sleeping, and he’s even heard it move around above his head, Will’s ceiling creaking over his head.   
***  
Will stood up and opened his mouth to greet the creature, and froze. What if the human bean didn’t speak his language? What if it was illiterate? 

It didn’t matter anyway. The human lifted Will’s prison up and carried it into the place where Will stole water for his home. His teeth rattled together when he was unceremoniously placed onto a flat surface, and when the human bent down to look at him, all reason all went out of the window. 

“L-look! I know I might look tasty, a-a-and would make a delicious snack, but Borrowers are extremely poisonous, and they are very bitter as well. We are also _very_ protective of each other, in a few minutes, this room will swarm with borrowers and you’ll be sorry!” Will squeaked, trying to sound brave, so far the human’s face hasn’t changed, and it was making Will nervous. Finally the creature opened his mouth to speak. 

Surprisingly, it spoke Will’s language! 

“My name is Hannibal Lecter.” The human said softly, as if talking to a child. “I know you are the only one of your kind that lives in this home, and I highly doubt you are as poisonous as you say. But you called yourself a Borrower? From what you’ve said there seems to be an entire race of your kind. Can you tell me how long you’ve been in my house?”

“I’ve been in _my_ home which my family made under the floorboards ever since I was an infant! I’ve been here longer than you have, sir! You have no right to just toss me out!”

“Who said I was tossing up such an interesting specimen. You’re going to remain right here next to me, until I tire of you, which, rest assured, won’t happen until much later.”

“Y-you can’t do that! Please! I need to-“

“Begging like that only makes things worse for you, Will. Now I shall begin a series of tests to check your outer physiology and your reflexes. If you are helpful and do not try to cause trouble, I will not bother with your internal organs. Do we have an understanding?”

Will had no choice, if he didn’t comply with the human, he would be killed!

“Fine. May I at least sleep in my own bed?”

“I’m afraid I cannot allow that. Will. I do not want to have to tear apart my own house in order to find you should you not show up the next day. Now I have some instruments set up here that I will use on you, a few of them will cause mild discomfort, but otherwise you will be relatively fine.”

“What? P-please don’t-“

“I thought you agreed? If you fuss, things will not be easy for you, Will. Now shall we begin?” Hannibal said with a smirk.

***  
Will was beyond confused. He’s never even _heard_ of any of the instruments that Hannibal mentioned when he was running through the so-called procedures that he was going to put Will through. 

First the human stole his clothes had and placed him on a table. Then, he pulled out a bright light and set it over him before poking at him with a metal stick, muttering something about resistance. Then he pressed a cold, round, metal thing to his body. It connected to a long tube that reached up to the human’s ears, and what he heard was apparently extremely interesting. After a while, the human ran over to his cabinet that contained his other odd instruments, before pulling out measuring tape. 

Now Will was a humble borrower, but the one thing he was infinitely proud of was his height. He was tall for a borrower, standing at seven and a half inches tall. He towered over his brother and he lorded that fact over him daily. So when Hannibal lined the tape up to him, he couldn’t help but smirk a little when the human read his height out loud before moving on to other measurements. 

The human spent most of the day poking and prodding at Will in various forms. He made Will run back and forth, made him touch his toes, he took more of his blood and he even made Will pee into a small (even to him) bowl! Humans were even stranger than he thought.

“Alright Will, I think I’m finished for today, we’ll pick up where we left off tomorrow, for now you should get some rest, tomorrow we will work on your response to stimuli.” 

Will sat in his cage that was now lined with soft blankets and burrowed down to feel safer. Today wasn't bad, but Will didn't trust that Hannibal would stick to his word about not harming him. Will would just have to remain cautious, but for now all he wanted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [New Tumblr](http://rococoandrum.tumblr.com/)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannibal learns something new about Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i lied, and i want to put the sex in another chapter ah i'm sorry

Will was once again woken up to an iridescent light. The very next thing that hit him was a violent jolt as his cage was picked up. He was thrown to the side of the cage and smacked the side of his face against the sides of the bars. Will groaned as he tried to dizzily stand up and failed miserably when his cage was jostled again.

“I’m terribly sorry about that, I felt like this mode of transportation is better than me just rudely grabbing and carrying you.”

 _“I seriously doubt that._ ” Will thought to himself, wishing he had the guts to say it out loud. 

“Now, today is the last day of testing I promise, then you will be able to go off on your own. Do you understand?”

“Y-yeah, I – ah, thank you.” Will stammered, he wasn’t expecting to get away from this man so early. He thought it would take _years_ before he could be safe again. This amazing news made the knot in Will’s stomach loosen slightly. He jerked when Hannibal set the cage down on the counter next to his strange poking instruments. 

The cage was opened for him and Will stepped outside of the cage gingerly, still a bit dizzy from the bump on his head. Once he was safely on stable ground, he faced his captor with a brave face, hoping that today wouldn’t be awful. Though he didn’t have much of a reason to think so, simply because of the man’s actions yesterday. Although, Will’s borrower instinct told him, Hannibal could be luring him into a false sense of security. 

No!

Will had to stay positive! 

He would get out!

Then he would definitely _move_.

Hannibal pushed on his shoulders to direct him towards the instruments causing Will almost fell over due to the strength of the giant hand. He straightened up and strode towards them with as much dignity as he could muster without clothes. Hopefully, the man would finish his tests and let Will go quickly so he could get dressed. He wasn’t shy anymore, just _cold._

Hannibal didn’t even properly _explain_ why he couldn’t have his clothes during the examinations! It was ridiculous! At any rate, he was stuck freezing until he was released!

“Now William, we have a full day ahead of us. I will be testing your reactions to certain stimuli. I will not lie to you, some will be mildly painful or overwhelming, but not unbearable. I will begin when you’re ready.”

“…Yeah, I guess.” Will didn’t want to delay these tests any longer. He wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. 

“Excellent.” Hannibal purred. 

***

Will squirmed as he was placed on large (for him) table-like structure and told to lay down. 

“First, I will be re-taking measurements just to double check for errors. After that, I will attach these monitoring devices and put you through a series of mild shocks to test your body’s reactions.”

“W-what kind of shocks?” Will stuttered, hoping Hannibal wasn’t planning on doing what Will thought he was. 

“Electrical ones, but do not worry, there will be no damage, short or long term.” Hannibal responded calmly. 

Will’s stomach dropped, he didn’t think he’d be able to take these kinds of tests. It wasn’t that he was scared to go through the tests, he was afraid of the effects. 

A few years back Will was wandering through some of the unused tunnels located under the house. While he was out there he accidentally ran into a wire that was worn and frayed but apparently still had some life in it. At first the shock startled Will so badly he fell on his ass. When he found out that he was alright and it was just a mild shock he reached out and touched it again, just to see how bad it actually was. Instead of jumping back in shock or pain, he felt a shiver run down his spine. 

Curious, Will reached out and held onto the wire a bit more, trying to figure out what this feeling was. He held on to the wires tighter, hoping to increase the feeling to better analyze it but it didn’t work. Will bit his lip as the tingling sensation increased and to his complete shock he was hard!

Will released the wire like it was a snake and stumbled backwards. 

“What the hell?” He mumbled looking down at his crotch. He turned away from the wire and walked back home, but he couldn’t forget the thrilling feeling of the electricity running through his veins. He’s gone back at least thirty times, but he’s only ever done something about his arousal five times. 

He was ashamed, but not enough to stop seeking the wire. 

So now Will was spread out _naked_ on a table about to be _shocked_ knowing he was about to be stimulated in a way that would force him to get an erection. Will wanted to try and stop it, explain to the human bean what would happen if he was stimulated in this way, he would get aroused. 

But he didn’t. 

He laid there, 

And _waited_. 

The first shock caused him to jerk up in shocked, much like the first incident with the frayed wire. Hannibal stopped and wrote down something next to Will’s little table. 

_“So far, so good.”_ Will thought to himself when his body didn’t react to the stimulus. 

“I’m going to increase the voltage a little bit.” Hannibal warned before toughing the wire to Will’s waist again. 

_“A-haa!”_ Will squealed. He wasn’t used to this much stimulus and he winced as he felt his body respond in kind. 

“Interesting,” Hannibal murmured to himself, before addressing Will. “Do you know how long you’ve been sexually aroused by electricity?” 

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Will stuttered, hoping that playing dumb would work. 

“Please do not feign ignorance, Will. It is not becoming of my intelligence or yours.” 

“I-ah-about three years? I think.”

“Even more interesting, how did you discover this interest?”

And so, blushing bright red with shame, he told Hannibal about finding his special wire and how long it took for him to come to terms with his _affliction._

“Hmm, this changes the nature of the tests, then. I want to see how long it will take for you to orgasm with this stimulus alone.”

“Wait? What? I – I never-” 

“William, the tests will remain the same, but with a different outcome.” Hannibal murmured in a low voice, in an attempt to comfort Will. “Now,” Hannibal said adjusting the intensity of the electricity, "let's set up a timer."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter a whole year later ah haha

Will woke up covered in what felt like drying globs of his own cum. Every inch of him felt sluggish, and his body felt like it was about to cave in on itself. He vaguely felt himself being moved from his position on the table were Hannibal shocked him until he came all over himself. This pattern continued with varying stages of intensity, for almost an hour. By the time Hannibal was satisfied with his results, Will had passed out on the table. 

Now his head was beginning to clear up and he could see that Hannibal was carrying him towards where he used to get water from. He tried to turn over onto his knees, only to be knocked back on his ass when Hannibal moved to set him down in a giant bowl. 

“What’s happening?” Will called out to Hannibal, wanting to know if he could go back home. 

“Will, it occurs to me that you might not come back after I’m through with you. So I’m prepared to compromise. I will allow you to stay in my home, and you will stay above my floorboards. I will provide for all of your needs up here without you having to struggle for survival, and I will not constantly be seeing you out of the corner of my eye.”

“B-but what about your cat?” Will stuttered, it was all he could think about at the moment. There were several other issues with what Hannibal said, but that was the main one on his mind. 

“The cat belongs to a friend of mine, and he will not be returning anytime soon.” 

“Ok then, what happens if you change your mind? What if you decide to kill me? Or what if you accidentally step on me? There’s a million things that can go wrong, and all of them end with me dead.”

“Your fear is understandable, Will, but I will take multiple precautions to ensure your safety. In exchange for my protection, you will allow me to perform experiments on you. Non-invasive ones of course. I have an old dollhouse that was a gift for an old friend, but she died before I could give it to her.”

“Dollhouse?” 

“A smaller scale home, meant for human children. You will be fine, I assure you. Your life will be much easier for you. You will no longer need to risk your life for food or water, I will provide for you.”

Will sat down inside the bowl, and thought about his options. He knew he most likely wouldn’t make it if he turned Hannibal down, he also knew that he wouldn’t see his family again should he accept the offer to be Hannibal’s pet. However, his life would be much easier, the experiments themselves weren’t bad at all, just invasive, and not having to wander the giant home at night to find food and supplies would be wonderful as well. Will would just need to take precautions in case the human bean turned on him and tried to eat him. Something his father told him that a human would do if they ever caught a Borrower, although that might have been to prevent Will and his brother from sneaking off to find some.

Gathering his strength, Will stood up and faced Hannibal, feeling his stomach sink when the humans face turned smug. The man knew he won, but Will still had to accept, there was no reason to rush Hannibal’s victory. 

“I will stay in the dollhouse, Hannibal. On the condition that you give me your word you will not attempt to harm me in any way. If you do I will do what Borrowers do best and disappear.”

“I understand, little friend. Now, let’s get you rinsed off and I can show you to your new home.” Hannibal said kindly, turning the water on.

Will nodded and sat down, and let the warm water wash over him.

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr](http://rococoandrum.tumblr.com/)


End file.
